Vikings saying goodbye to Gage

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June 25, 2010 - 8:24 AM

It seems everyone associated with the Vikings through the years has a story to tell about the Gage Center dormitories in Mankato.

Whether it be a player racing back to Gage in order to get in before curfew (or find a way to get in without being noticed after breaking it), the lack of air conditioning in the building that caused window units to work overtime or the classic 1988 staged argument between defensive tackle Keith Millard and defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin that ended with Millard tossing a stuffed mannequin (not Kiffin) off the roof.

But as far as the Vikings are concerned, Gage Center is about to become a memory. Although the building still stands -- each year there has been talk that it soon will be torn down -- the Vikings are going to be moving into Sears Residence Hall on the Minnesota State campus this summer.

The Vikings shifted their training camp to Mankato in 1966 and it's believed they have been housed in Gage every year since. Tower A of Gage was completed in 1965 and Tower B was completed the following year.

Construction on Sears Residence Hall began in the fall of 2006 and, according to the Mankato Free Press, its 608 beds give it the total capacity of Gage's two towers.

Sears' location on the west side of campus isn't as close to the practice fields as Gage but it does have one definite advantage. Central air conditioning.

"It’s one of those necessary evils,” said Greenway, who did not discuss his absence from the practice field during minicamp this month. “You have to do it, not now though. I have a full year left on my contract and I’m going to honor that and do what I need to do. I wouldn’t be a South Dakotan if I didn’t honor my word that way. At the same time, obviously, I want what I’ve earned and what I deserve and, eventually, I think that will happen.”

Greenway told the paper that he has talked to Brett Favre and would love to see the quarterback return but added, "I know he's going through some things."

Talking about the Vikings, Greenway said: “We feel like we’re the best team in the NFL. But, in sports, the best team doesn’t always win. You have to play it out. We just have to be better on that day and put ourselves in that position to have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs this season.”